It's too early to write an obituary for the standard-bearer of India's most famous political dynasty.

Is Rahul Gandhi a liability for India's ruling Congress Party? On the face of it, the 43-year-old Congress vice president and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi clan seems a hapless dilettante unsuited for the hurly-burly of politics. Multiple polls show Congress heading for a drubbing at the hands of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in national elections that must be held by May. But although Mr. Gandhi's immediate electoral prospects look bleak, his long-term odds of becoming prime minister remain high.